


Love potions 2

by Coriaria



Series: Love Potions [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Christmas, Drama & Romance, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Reference to Past Domestic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 01:58:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13225782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coriaria/pseuds/Coriaria
Summary: Teddy asks his father if Severus can join them for Christmas supper. Angst and hurt/ comfort ensues.





	Love potions 2

**Author's Note:**

> This is a followup fic to [Love Potions](https://coriaria.dreamwidth.org/13948.html), which I wrote for the Moonlight Madness in June. It should make sense if you haven't read the original story though. This fic is another angle on some of the events in Love Potions - what happened behind the scenes which Teddy didn't see.

 

 **1.**  
Teddy was quiet, and that was usually a bad sign.

“Teddy? Where are you, love?”

Remus checked the lounge and found the floor scattered with Lego, but no Teddy. He glanced out the window to the garden, but the day was cold and grim. It didn’t seem likely he was there. Next he climbed the stairs and looked in Teddy’s bedroom. For a moment, he thought the room was empty, but then he saw a flash of blue on the far side of Teddy’s bed.

“What are you up to there, darling?”

Teddy quickly shoved something under the bed.

“I’m making Christmas presents, Daddy. You have to stay away.”

“I’m sorry, Teddy. I’ll stay back. Do you want to tell me about what you are making though?”

There was a shuffling as Teddy rearranged whatever he was doing.

“It’s okay, Daddy. I’ve hidden yours now.”

“Does that mean I can see?” Remus asked.

Teddy’s head popped up from behind the bed and he nodded. There was a smile on his face and his eyes were shining. He was clearly pleased with his efforts.

Remus moved cautiously around the bed to see what Teddy had been doing. Teddy held up one of his creations, which appeared to be a pine cone, painted red and decorated with red and gold Christmas ribbon. Remus noticed a few paint and glue marks on the carpet, but he was pretty sure a determined _Evanesco_ would deal with them.

“This is for Uncle Harry. It’s Gryffindor colours,” Teddy said.

“That’s very thoughtful, Teddy. I can see you’ve worked very hard on that. I’m sure that Harry will love it.”

Or at least Harry, now a parent himself, had enough sense to pretend to be thrilled.

“And this is for Nana,” Teddy continued, holding up a green pine cone, this one decorated with red ribbon. Remus duly admired that one too. It seemed that Teddy had been refining his skills, as the quantity of paint and glue dripping from Andromeda’s cone seemed rather less than Harry’s.

Then Teddy held up the last pine cone. It was painted black and, somewhere, Teddy had found black ribbon. Or he had painted another coloured ribbon black, given the quantity of black paint dripping from it.

“And this is for Severus,” Teddy stated, rather unnecessarily. He handed it to Remus, transferring a quantity of paint from his hands to his father’s in the process.

Remus managed to avoid raising his eyebrows and looking startled.

“That definitely looks like Severus’s present, Teddy. I’m sure he will love it.”

“Can Severus come to Christmas with us, Daddy?”

Remus opened his mouth and then closed it again. Severus did not appear to be a man who had much interest in Christmas. He knew that Harry had repeatedly invited him to the early lunch that he and Ginny held for various friends before they headed to the Burrow for dinner. But Severus continued to refuse.

“I don’t know, Teddy.”

He could understand Severus’s refusal. Harry and Ginny’s lunches were not as noisy and chaotic as the Burrow at Christmas, but only just. There were usually enough over-excited children and slightly tipsy adults to give Remus a headache, and he liked people. For Severus, it would be intolerable.

“Uncle Harry asked him to come last year, but I think Severus would have found it a bit noisy if he came.”

“But our Christmas is quiet,” Teddy said firmly. Then, more hesitantly, he added, “well, I can be more quiet.”

So that was what Teddy had in mind. After the chaos of Harry’s, Remus and Teddy would head home for a rest. In the evening, either they would go to Andromeda’s for supper, or she would come to their place. This year, it would be at their house.

The thought of Severus joining them was both appealing and appalling. On the one hand, they had been spending more time together over the last few weeks and Remus wanted to include him more in the family. On the other, he was unsure how his mother-in-law would react, and was reluctant to expose himself – and Severus – to her disapproval.

2.  
It had been Harry who had put Remus in touch with Severus after the war. Remus had been struggling as a solo parent, picking up sporadic employment where he could and maintaining an uneasy truce with Andromeda. That was all hard enough, but the full moons were utterly miserable. So Harry had suggested that Remus ask Severus to brew Wolfsbane for him.

It was the last thing Remus wanted to hear. He had enough people avoiding him, judging him and generally considering him a hopeless parent. The idea of asking a sneering, scowling Severus for a favour was daunting. But perhaps not as daunting as facing another full moon without Wolfsbane.

And so he had steeled himself to face his former colleague. At first glance, nothing had changed. Severus was as hostile as ever, looking down his prominent nose at Remus with complete disdain and insulting him several times in a conversation which lasted only a few minutes. But he’d agreed to make Wolfsbane without hesitation and without even asking what Remus was able to pay. Then he had slammed the door in Remus’s face.

He’d delivered the potion a few days later, terrifying Teddy with his forbidding presence. After that, Remus hadn’t expected to see him for another month, but he’d turned up the morning after the full moon.

“I read an article in potions monthly. You might find this helpful.”

Severus had thrust a vial at him and stood watching expectantly. Remus had stared at the vial for a few moments, wondering whether Severus was trying to poison him.

“Are you going to take it, Lupin? I’d like to see if it works _before_ the next full moon.”

Remus had swallowed the potion. After all, if Severus wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t be either silly or cruel enough to do it in front of Teddy, who had just been dropped home by his grandmother and was watching Severus with a look of alarm. Within a few moments, the pain that felt like a knife in his head had faded to a moderate throbbing.

“Thank you, Severus, that has really helped.”

“Is the pain gone?”

“The headache has reduced, although it isn’t gone.”

“I see. And is there other pain?”

Remus hesitated. He hated to complain. On the other hand, Severus wasn’t offering sympathy. He simply wanted the facts.

“My joints. My back is especially bad, and my hands. The muscles in general. And my skin feels as if it’s been perforated all over. That’s the effect of the wolf’s fur, I think.”

“Hmm, there may be some modifications I can make.”

Severus had turned up the next month, carrying another potion.

“I’ve made a few adjustments. I’d be interested to hear how it differs from the previous month.”

That potion had reduced the headache further and had reduced the pain in his muscles, but had made Remus drowsy. Severus had waited until it wore off before he left.

The next month there were further changes, and the next. There were potions for the pain afterward, potions for before the transformation to help calm him, reduce his anxiety and irritability, and help him sleep, a salve for his hands and an aromatic bath oil to ease his aching muscles. Severus spoke to Remus as if he was an experimental subject, asking for a description of his symptoms and response to the potions. He never seemed to relax around Remus, seldom accepting his offer of tea or biscuits, but after a while Teddy became used to him and followed him as he paced around the sitting room. It was a surprise, the way Teddy had responded to Severus. He seemed to recognise that despite the intimidating exterior, he was essentially a good man and that he was doing his sincere best to help Remus.

3.  
“ _Please_ can Severus come to Christmas, Daddy? I want to give him my present.”

“I’m not sure, Teddy. I don’t know what Nana would think about him coming.”

“But Nana likes Severus.”

Remus wondered if that was true. He didn’t really have a good idea of who Andromeda liked or disliked, apart from the fact that she’d never particularly liked Remus. She hadn’t approved when he’d married Dora and had barely been able to look at him when he had survived and her daughter hadn’t. On the other hand, Remus thought, she was right to disapprove of him as a son-in-law. He hadn’t thought he was a good match for Dora either, and he often felt that it would have been better had she been the one who lived.

Apart from disapproving of her son-in-law, Remus knew she didn’t get on with her sister and loathed her brother-in-law but seemed to tolerate her nephew. Beyond that, he was uncertain. While never officially an Order member, she did attend reunions, but never seemed close to anyone.

“Does she really, Teddy?”

“Yes. He was in Slytherin house. Like her.”

Remus gave a sigh. He would like Severus to come. To be honest, Remus thought, if Andromeda had a problem with Severus joining them at Christmas, when he had no family of his own to be with, then that was her problem, not his. He would invite Severus, and if she had a problem with that, he’d deal with it later. _If_ Severus said yes, of course, and that was a big _if_.

He called around to Spinner’s End the next day, while Teddy was at school. Severus didn’t answer the door, which probably meant he was brewing in his basement. Remus let himself in – after he’d disturbed Severus’s brewing a few times the potions master had keyed him into his wards – and headed to the kitchen. Half-drunk cups of tea were scattered around the room. Remus collected them up and added the two cups he had picked up in the hallway. He added a few plates to the stack of dirty dishes and gave them a thorough scourgify before stacking them in the cupboard.

There was a half-eaten loaf of bread on the bench, but it had started to go mouldy. Remus wondered whether Severus had eaten that for breakfast. Probably, he thought, vanishing the bread and sending the margarine back to the fridge, a muggle device which had been in the house since Severus was a child, but now ran on magic rather than electricity. He searched through the pantry to see if there was any more suitable food, finding a couple of plates of stew under preservation charms. The bowls, he recognised, were Andromeda’s. That meant that he wasn’t the only one trying to keep Severus from dying of malnutrition or food poisoning. Perhaps Teddy was right.

Finally, Remus made two cups of tea and walked down the stairs into the cellar.

“Hello, Severus.”

“Lupin, I’m brewing.”

“I thought I was the one with the tendency to state the obvious.”

“You are disturbing me, Lupin.”

Remus took the hint, leaving the cup of tea on the bench and retreating upstairs. Severus would appear when he was ready. While he waited, Remus headed upstairs and collected dirty clothes from the floor of Severus’s bedroom. What concerned him was not the quantity of dirty clothes on the floor, but the lack of them. It probably meant that Severus had worn the same clothes for days. He then headed to the sitting room, where he discovered more half-drunk cups of tea and half-eaten slices of mouldy bread. He vanished the bread and picked up the tea cups with a sigh.

Remus had been visiting Severus’s home and quietly cleaning up the worst of the mess for more than two years. It had started when Remus had developed a sensitivity to aconite and was frequently very ill after the full moon. Severus began spending more time helping to care for Remus after – and then during – his transformation. Remus had finally realised that while Severus looked after him, he could see no sign of anyone looking after Severus.

It had taken some work to convince Severus to even let Remus in the house. When he finally did, Remus understood why. Severus, it appeared, did not expend much effort on housework. Piles of potion journals and books lined the hallway and sitting room. The kitchen bench was scattered with dirty dishes, with the only cleared area containing a loaf of stale bread and a punnet of margarine. It appeared that Severus’s diet consisted of bread, margarine and black tea. It had long been clear that he seldom washed his clothes except with the most basic of cleaning spells.

Remus had taken to visiting Severus at his home at least once a week. Severus didn’t seem happy about it and never thanked him, but he also didn’t throw Remus out, which suggested he didn’t entirely mind. After all, Remus thought, he must have been used to the house elves at Hogwarts.

Severus finally emerged from the cellar and blinked in the light of the kitchen.

“Have you eaten, Severus?” Remus asked.

Severus shrugged.

“Here, I found this in the cupboard.”

Remus removed the preservation charm from the stew and handed it to Severus, who ate it without appearing to notice what he was doing. When Severus had eaten and had a cup of tea in his hands, Remus steeled himself to ask the question.

“Severus, Teddy and I were wondering if you’d like to have Christmas supper with us. It’s just Teddy, Andromeda and me, so it’s very quiet. But we would love it if you’d join us.”

Severus went still.

“I don’t like Christmas, Lupin.”

Severus turned and fled to the cellar.

4.  
“Severus?”

Remus walked down the stairs.

“Severus? Are you alright?”

Severus stood at the bench, staring intently at a cauldron.

“I’m brewing, Lupin.”

“No, you’re not, Severus. You’re upset. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

Severus shook his head. Remus move closer and, very hesitantly, placed a hand on Severus’s shoulder. Severus flinched.

“I don’t like Christmas.”

“You said that, Severus. Can you tell me why?”

Severus shook his head and pulled away.

“I have no desire to discuss it, Lupin. And now if you will excuse me, I have things to do.”

Remus stepped closer again.

“I’m sorry if I upset you, Severus. It wasn’t my intention. It’s just…”

Remus reached his hand out to Severus again. He touched his arm, watching again as Severus flinched away. Remus seldom attempted to touch him, knowing that the former spy was uncomfortable with physical contact. But the urge to try and comfort him was hard to fight.

“Severus, Teddy would really love it if you came. Even if you didn’t come to supper, if you could just drop by, he would be so happy. He really wants to give you the present he made you.”

“He made me a present? Why would he… why would he make a present for me?”

Severus looked stunned – wide-eyed and disbelieving.

“Teddy is very fond of you, Severus. Surely you realise that. And so am I. We would both love for you to come, even if just for a few minutes.”

“Really?”

The look on Severus’s face almost broke Remus’s heart.

“Yes, Severus,” Remus said gently. “Really.”

Unable to resist any longer, Remus lifted his hand and tucked strands of black hair behind Severus’s ear. He brushed his fingers down the side of Severus’s face. A pink flush began to spread across his pale skin, but Severus didn’t pull away, in fact he leaned in towards Remus, just slightly. Remus knew, then, what he had begun to suspect just a few weeks ago. Severus wanted him, but didn’t believe that Remus would ever want him back.

Remus could remember the exact moment that he himself had realised that he wanted more than friendship from Severus. After the last full moon, Severus had arrived with a muscle salve and when Remus assumed that Severus would apply it, his pale skin had blushed scarlet. It might just have been embarrassment at any physical contact – in the years Remus had known him, Severus always seemed to avoid touch. But Remus, for the first time, realised that he really wanted that contact, that he really wanted to feel Severus’s hands on him. And that he wanted his hands on Severus.

After five years, in which Remus’s indifference had moved to respect, then an odd sort of friendship and then a deep concern, Remus now knew that he he wanted more. So much more. He wanted everything and he wasn’t going to let Severus go. Not now that Remus knew that was what he wanted too.

He could see the tension in Severus’s body. Long, elegant were clenched into fists, dark eyes flicked nervously to Remus’s face and then away, ragged breaths caused his chest to rise and fall. He was afraid, but he didn’t pull away. Severus was torn, Remus could see.

Remus slid his hand to the back of Severus’s neck and leaned in. He brushed the softest of kisses against his lips and then pulled back slightly.

“Severus, it would mean everything to me if you would join us for Christmas.”

The flush of pink became a raging scarlet and Severus look at the floor.

“How… how can you… why would you… me…”

“Oh, Severus.”

Remus lifted his chin with his hand and brushed another kiss across his lips. He understood the fears of someone who considered themselves unworthy of love. He understood, too, that loving someone who felt that way could be a hard road. He knew he’d hurt Dora at times when he’d pushed her away. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. But he knew he wanted it more than anything.

He couldn’t explain though. How could words express that depth of emotion, the way he felt about the difficult, defensive man who, quite clearly, was mystified that Remus, that anyone, could want him?

Remus moved closer again. This time the kiss was urgent, assertive, unambiguous. Remus slid a hand behind Severus’s neck and held him.

“I want you,” Remus said, pulling back just slightly, his lips still brushing Severus’s as he spoke. “I want you so much.”

As Severus gasped, Remus plunged his tounge into the warm mouth, feeling Severus’s lips part in assent. And then his whole body, that tense, uptight body, clad in severe black robes and constraining buttons, sank against him, surrendering to him, yielding to Remus’s desire.

Severus may not have been able to find the words to say it either, but his body gave Remus his answer.

5.  
Christmas Day, so far, had not been auspicious. Teddy had slept poorly on Christmas Eve, and was already fractious before they went to Harry’s. At Harry’s, he’d clearly not been the only child to be short of sleep and in a bad mood. Baby James had crawled over to investigated one of Victoire’s toys, and Victoire had responded by hitting him. James had screamed in response and Dominique had joined him in sympathy. Teddy, taking his position as the eldest child seriously, had tried to intervene and Victoire had had hit him as well. Teddy didn’t like that and hit her back.

Four screaming children had had to be separated by their parents, and Fleur and Ginny had nearly come to blows over the argument themselves.

Remus had been relieved to escape early, using the excuse of needing to prepare for Andromeda’s visit. Harry had given him a look of sympathy, knowing that Remus would need to have everything perfect to avoid his mother-in-law’s disapproval. Remus felt slightly guilty at not mentioning that Severus was joining them too, but he wasn’t really to share that with the trio and the entire Weasley clan.

After a rather long nap, Teddy was in a much better mood. He settled down to play with the new Lego set Hermione had given him while Remus prepared supper. Eventually, Teddy grew bored of playing with the Lego on his own and helped Remus decorate the Christmas tree-shaped gingerbread with blobs of red and green icing.

Andromeda had arrived promptly at six. She pulled Teddy into a tight hug which she held for a long time. Teddy’s eyes grew wide at the large bag of presents she carried and Andromeda gave Remus an apologetic look.

“I had Christmas dinner with my sister and her husband,” she said, for once her expression of disapproval not directed at Remus. “They insisted on sending presents for Teddy, as well as for Severus. They didn’t include anything for you, of course.”

Remus smiled. He knew that Severus continued to refuse to attend Christmas with the Malfoys. They were unlikely to be pleased to discover Severus was spending Christmas with Remus.

Severus announced his presence with an uncharacteristically hesitant knock at the door. Teddy had rushed to let him in, and was already giving him a hug before Remus had reached the hallway.

“Severus, welcome. It’s lovely to see you.”

With Andromeda still in the sitting room and Teddy rushing to announce Severus’s arrival to her, Remus had given Severus a brief kiss on the lips. He was rewarded with a faint hint of colour in the pale cheeks.

Remus brought Severus through into the sitting room. For a few minutes it was awkward as Severus sat silently in the corner looking uncomfortable, and Andromeda drank her glass of wine too quickly. Remus knew that Christmas was hard for her and tried to be tolerant, but he’d pointedly refilled her glass with apple juice. Then Teddy had decided to hand around a tray of his carefully decorated gingerbread and somehow the tension was broken.

Teddy began to hand out the presents next, barely suppressing his excitement as he handed his homemade presents to each of the adults. Andromeda gushed with delight over her pine cone, and Remus admired his with appropriate enthusiasm before hanging it on the Christmas tree.

Then Severus began to open his. Remus watched anxiously, not sure how Severus would react to Teddy’s creation.

“I made it and wrapped it myself,” Teddy said, rather unecessarily, as Severus peeled away several layers of tape.

“You made a very thorough job of it too, Teddy. Well done,” Severus replied, as the wrapping finally yielded, revealing the cone covered in thick blobs of black paint.

Severus was silent for a moment as Teddy watched in anticipation.

“Oh, Teddy, it’s lovely. I think it’s the nicest present anyone has even given me.”

“Really?”

Severus nodded and Remus could see nothing on his face but sincerity.

“I can see you worked very hard to make this. I’ve never had someone work so hard to make a present especially for me before.”

Teddy beamed with pride and Remus felt himself melt inside. Of all the things he loved about Severus, he loved this the most – that Severus recognised Teddy’s unconditional love and made the effort to responded with sincerity and openness, even though Remus knew he found it difficult.

“It’s to hang on your Christmas tree,” Teddy added.

“I wonder, Teddy, if you would allow me a special favour. Not many people get to see my Christmas tree and it’s not very big, so I was wondering if I could hang it on yours. Then I’d know it was on a tree which was big and beautiful, and all your visitors would see it.”

Teddy nodded and the two of them walked over to the tree, carefully selecting just the right location. Remus glanced across at Andromeda and she smiled at him. Remus saw the same understanding in his mother-in-law’s eyes – she knew as well as he did that Severus never had a single decoration, let alone a tree. But there was something else too. He saw concern for Severus and he realised that Teddy was right. Andromeda did care for Severus.

After Teddy’s pine cones had been unwrapped, they began on the other presents. Remus felt almost as nervous as Teddy had been, waiting for Severus to unwrap his gift. He’d given a lot of thought to what he could give Severus. In the end, he’d found a small mortar and pestle at a stall in Carkitt Market. It was that same type as the one Severus used, which Remus knew had belonged to his mother, only a quarter of the size. It was a beautiful piece of equipment, made from Wedgwood biscuit porcelain and with a pestle handle of ebony. The dealer had told him that it had been in muggle hands for a century, but the original provenance was believed to be magical. After carefully inspecting for curses, Remus had purchased it, and now watched as Severus unwrapped it.

Severus stared at it for some time before responding.

“This will be useful, Lupin. I always had a range of different sizes at Hogwarts, but I’ve only got the one at home.”

Remus gave a sigh of relief and handed Severus a parcel containing Honeydukes chocolate. He had no idea whether Severus actually liked chocolate, but if he left a block in Severus’s kitchen, he always found an empty wrapper the next time he visited.

6.  
The trouble started when the presents were all opened and they moved to the table for supper. Despite Remus’s efforts, Andromeda was already halfway through her third glass of wine, and although she wasn’t obviously drunk, she’d stumbled into Severus as she walked to the table. She’d spilled her wine over him, and he’d dropped his butterbeer and fled from the room.

“I’m sorry, Remus,” Andromeda said, looking like she might cry.

“It’s okay, it was an accident. I’m sure Severus has just gone to clean his robe.”

He vanished the broken glass before Teddy could tread in it then went to look for Severus.

Remus found Severus standing in the bathroom. He was very upright, with his hands clenched into fists and his face set in a severe mask as if he was about to attend a meeting of Death Eaters. But as he moved closer, Remus could see that he was trembling and that his face was unusually pale.

“Severus?” he whispered.

Severus didn’t move.

“Severus, are you alright?”

Remus placed one hand on Severus’s arm. He wanted to give him a hug, but was unsure whether that was a good idea.

“Christmas was never much fun when I was a child,” Severus said, finally.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“No.”

Remus stood in silence, his hand still on Severus’s arm.

“My parents used to fight a lot. If my mother didn’t have her wand handy, my father would hit her. If she did, she would curse him. They both drank.”

The trembling increased and Remus felt a surge of protectiveness. He wanted to pull Severus into his arms and hold him tight.

“What about you, Severus?” he asked, his grip tightening on Severus’s arm.

“If I stayed out of their way, they would ignore me and I’d be alright.”

“And if you didn’t stay out of their way?”

Severus didn’t reply, but his jaw had gone tight.

“Christmas was always worse. We would usually go to my father’s relatives. There would be a lot of drinking and shouting. When we got home there would always be a horrible row.”

“Oh, Severus. I’m sorry that our Christmas brought that back for you.”

Severus shook his head and moved slightly closer to Remus, who took the hint and slipped one arm around Severus’s waist. The other arm wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him close. Severus buried his face in the junction of Remus’s neck and shoulder, and gave a deep sigh. He stayed like that a long time, Remus’s arms around him, until the deep trembling subsided.

“I’m sorry, Lupin,” Severus said, pulling away. “That was pathetic of me.”

“Severus, no.”

“I don’t know why you put up with me.”

The words had slipped past his lips before he knew what he was saying.

“Because I love you, Severus.”

Black eyebrows drew together in confusion.

“But… you can’t. I… I’m unlovable.”

“Oh, oh no, Severus, don’t say that. It’s not true”

Remus silenced him with a finger on his lips. He looked into the dark eyes, so uncertain, so vulnerable. As painful as it was to see Severus’s distress, he also knew that Severus was giving him a rare and precious gift by revealing a part of himself that he kept shielded from the world. Remus leaned forward and kissed Severus, hoping the caress of his lips would convey what his words couldn’t.

Then he felt a hand pulling at his arm.

“Daddy, Daddy.”

Remus pulled away, somewhat reluctantly, and looked down at his son.

“What is it, darling?”

“Nana asked if she should leave.”

Remus glanced up at Severus, checking for his reaction, and then shook his head.

“Please ask her to stay. We will be down in a moment and then we will have supper.”

Remus heard Teddy trot down the stairs.

“Daddy says you should stay,” he said firmly. “He’s just kissing Severus now, but he said he would come downstairs soon.”

This time it was Remus’s turn to blush, looking at Severus with an expression of horror on his face.

“I’m sorry, Severus.”

“You know, that’s one of the things I like about Teddy. He’s a very honest child.”

Remus gave a rueful grin.

“That he is.”

He reached out and took Severus’s hand.

“So, are you ready to face the rest of Christmas?”

Severus gave a nod and they walked together down the stairs.

 

 


End file.
